Troum are a Bremen, Germany based duo formerly of the 'ambient-industrial' band Maeror Tri. Tjukurrpa is their third full length CD, follow-up to a Mort Aux Vaches and first on member Stefan Knappe's Transgredient Records. It is also the first in a trilogy under the name (meaning "dreamtime"), this one concentrating on 'harmonies' and the next two on 'drones' and 'pulsations'. And that is Troum's objective: to put the listener into a dream-like state of unconscious exploration.
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While the lightning andthunder originate at the same time, we see the flash first — it'sbright and immediately grabs our attention, from the intensity we canmake a good guess as to the thunder's magnitude. This EP preceeds alarge milestone in Matmos' musical career and the flash is indeed quiteintense. Following last year's tour with dates in Europe and shows inthe USA with the Rachel's, Matmos soon are forking over an incrediblealbum cleverly based on and constructed from uncountable sounds ofvarious surgical gear and practices. The "California Rhinoplasty" EPintroduces us to a stunning 10 minute 'cut' from the album in itsoriginal form and then follows it up with an honorable cover tune ofCoil's "Disco Hospital" and two remixes of the title cut. Not only willthe following full-lengther "A Chance to Cut is a Chance to Cure" betheir first release on Matador worldwide, but they're currently in NewYork finishing up the production on an album from a young relativelyunknown up-and-coming female singer from Iceland who goes by only onename (hint: her name almost rhymes with New Yörk). The original versionon this EP grooves pleasurably with a flawless, clean precision, whilethe remixes could almost be given completely different names due totheir bold retoolings of the original. Get this thing now before Matmosput everybody else out of business.
The follow-up toL'altra's 1999 self-titled EP comes on strong with sweet and somberpop, chilling with an intensity that well exceeds its slow and simplearrangements. Whether or not you're looking for music to languish to,Music of a Sinking Occasion is itself good enough reason to let thestereo blare while you lie in bed all day. Opening track "Music of aSinking Occasion" is hardly ideal cocooning music, but once you getpast its jazz jangle, there's nearly an hour of solid tunes that aresimply to sigh for. "Little Chair" layers mellow strings and guitarover rolling bass and drums that evoke a duskier Sea & Cake. Shortand glowing "Slow as Cake" and "Handwashing for Good Health" featurelayers of keyboardist Lindsay Anderson's vocals, which on most tracksintertwine with those of guitarist Joseph Costra. Towards the middle ofthe album, "Lips Move On Top of Quiet" starts as a quiet sway thatswells into an icy swirl of piano and strings. Each song evokes adistinct shade of introspective longing that blends into the next for awhole set of uninterrupted atmosphere. The album also features RobMazurek (Isotope 217, Chicago Underground Trio) on trumpet and FredLonberg-Holm (Flying Luttenbachers, Pillow) on cello. L'altra'sEuropean tour, kicking off in April in Brussels with Tortoise and theSea & Cake, will finish up with a single stop in the States atChicago's Schubas, May 11th. In the meantime, it's hard not to resistlearning all of Music by heart, with plenty of blankets nearby. - Diane Lewis
The first surprise comesbefore you've even played the second Silo album - Swim have launchedtheir first illuminated 'digipack'. I have well over half the CD'sColin Newman and Malka Spigel have released on their label since theyrealised back in the early 90's that they could do a better job ofgetting Malka's 'Rosh Ballata' album to the ears of those who wanted tolisten than anyone else, and this is the first 'digipack' I've seen. Imuch prefer them to brittle 'jewel cases' and the cover photo of rowsof glowing light bulbs resting on green grass is well served bycardboard.
Ae trainspotters aroundthe world are aware that it's been some time since new material hassurfaced from Sean Booth and Rob Brown. In mid-1999 they released thedifficult, confusing "EP7," which left quite a few people nonplused,others either irritated or delighted. Consequently, rabid Autechre fans(such as myself) are very curious about this new release: a second setof Peel Sessions to complement the first set recorded in 1995.
Perhaps inspired bySpringsteen's "Nebraska," "Bring On The Snakes" finds Crooked Fingers(Eric Bachmann of Archers Of Loaf fame, who recorded a track for SubPop's "Nebraska" tribute "Badlands") recording a largely scaled downaffair. Quite a contrast from last year's self-titled debut, thisrelease features Bachmann on acoustic guitar and vocals on all tracks,accompanied by various atmospheric sounds and noises. This may causesome to call the release bland, or comment that all of its songs "soundthe same." If the same was said of "Nebraska" upon its release 20 yearsago, few say it now. The songs are more mature while sparse, and thelyrics complement Bachmann's half-Springsteen/half-Tom Waits growl. Thealbum reaches its apex on "Doctors Of Deliverance," where a poundingHouse-like electronic beat drives the track as Bachmann sings of losthopes and dreams and cheated/defeated love. Crooked Fingers may havechanged from the last release, but the song remains somewhat the same.Thank goodness. Bachmann is proving to be one of the great bards of ourtime, deserving of your ear. Listen: you won't be disappointed.
Robin Storey, a foundingand former member of Zoviet France, has endeavored for nearly a decadeas Rapoon. With "Cold War" he explores new means of expression whilereflecting upon the burgeoning war induced technology in the otherwise'beautifully stark' British countryside of his youth. The drum n bassportion of the title is somewhat misleading ... Storey has indeedembraced and implemented drums and bass as rhythmic elements but only afew tracks are as frantic as the d 'n b of, say, Squarepusher, Plug orold Photek. And judging from the few other Rapoon CDs (of which thereare dozens) I currently own, this is still very much signature Rapoon.21 tracks ranging from less than 1 to nearly 12 minutes are spread over2 discs. A thick and entrancing mix of ethereal/ghostly atmospheres,voices, samples and brief radio transmissions are melded well with thedrum loops. In most tracks the ambiance enshrouds the rhythm (ordispatches of it completely - always a plus for Rapoon) while in someothers the opposite is true. The results are positive save for 2particular tracks that sound too 'canned' and/or tedious for my liking.A copy of Sonic Foundry's ACID 2.0 for Windoze comes on disc 2 so youcan remix to your heart's delight. The next slated release from Rapoonis a re-issue of the 1997 album "Messianic Ghosts" on KlanggalerieRecords.
Typically, a 'DJ Mix'record will be a selection of other people's cuts strung together byone semi-popular artist in a continuous mix, sometimes the DJ will beusing their own remixes to somehow give the impression that their nameon the record makes it rather personal, in this case however, JackDangers has spun together a multitude of material that has beenswimming around on Tino Corp releases, all of which include productionin various capacities by Jack Dangers. Old collectors and new fanswould each find great things in this collection. Clocking in at over 61minutes, this collection pulls together not only some exclusive Tinobreaks, Meat Beat Manifesto songs, Loop Finder General tracks, remixesand other appearances, but the exclusive video "Tino's Factory"directed by Ben Stokes (DHS) adds the finishing touch. Also unlike tonsof other DJ mixes, many songs are included in somewhat close to theircomplete form with a refreshing varied tempo. For those who own theTino vinyl, this makes a perfect compact collection for bringing aroundon the walkman or for long drives. Others who have not yet heard theTino Corp records, a disc like this provides a great introduction tothe breakbeat experiments, collecting great dub, latin and tropicalbreaks along that have a flavor distinctly Jack Dangers. 
Fans of Pere Ubu willdefinitely want to check out the latest from Panopoly Academy ofEngineers. Complete with David Thomas-esque shrieks and squeaks,Panopoly Academy's third full-length release paints (or splatters) anoff-kilter post-punk soundscape. Pounding basslines and grindingguitars divert into watery, wandering interludes before lurching backinto jittery assault. The album's nine songs are grouped into threes,each its own suite, so that one track and the next often collide.However, each song definitely has an unpredictable arc of its own. "TskTsk" begins with a ticking twisting together of drums (Ryan Hicks),chewy bass (Pete Schreiner), and guitars (Marty Sprowles) that unravelsas soon as Darin Glenn's vocals intervene, "Your culture co-opt,contain." After only a brief return to the tension of its openingstrains, the track explodes into a funky twitch that subsides intosilence before winding up for a final handful of crashing chords and anunsettling chorus of chirpy, layered vocals. The entire album is densewith twists, jerks, and unexpected directions, every musical spasmproducing its own bizarre pleasure. Mm, battering rhythms...bleatingguitars... Depending on your usual musical inclinations, this sort ofthing can also be exhausting. While it's possible that such jaggedterrain could use some more developed passages, it's more likely theband's frenetic style just takes a little getting used to. Check itout. Previous Panopoly Academy releases can also be found underPanopoly Academy Glee Club, and an upcoming album will sport the namePanopoly Academy Legionnaires. Schizophrenia by any other name.
Following the AC/DC kickstarted with his EP, "Rock 'n Roll Singer," Red House Painters' frontman, Mark Kozelek has completely re-rearranged an entire album's worthof tracks for solo voice and acoustic guitar. Once again his choice ofAC/DC cuts come from the old Bon Scott-era, including reinterpretationsof tracks that appeared on last year's EP. The tracks are original inthe sense that any fan of Kozelek's knows he has a knack of completelyrewriting the music while keeping the lyrics intact, a trend going wayback to Red House Painters' eponymous third album from '93. While thisalbum is a homage, and shows a side of him even softer and moresensitive than the frequent distortion-filled guitar solo-stretchedlabel-dropping songs from RHP, I'm really aching for a new trick. Tohis credit, he has essentially made these songs his, as the convictionis resounding true from his voice. His talents as an acoustic guitaristand arranger are shining bright, as these hard-edge rock and rollclassics have almost become endearing love songs. One of my complaintsis that these ten songs, which total exactly 30 minute, could haveeasily been released on the same disc as last year's EP. Other thanthat, longtime fans shouldn't feel let down, 'Old Ramon' is scheduledsometime very shortly.
